The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1887-06-02
clvlL.sERvIcE REFORM.

President Cleveland'S brief address
at the unvaiAng of the Garfield statue
in Washington fifty and forcibly en-
forced the "sad and distressing lesson"
of his predecessor death. ''While,"
he said, american citizenship stands
aghast and affrighted that murder and
assassination should lurk in the midst
of free people and strike down the
head of their Government, fearless
search and the discovery of the origin
and hiding-place of these hateful and
unnatural things should be followed by
a solemn resolve to purge for ever from
our political methods and from the
operation of our Government the per-
versions and misconceptions which
gave birth to passionate and bloody
thoughts. If from this hour" the
President concluded, "our admiration
for the bravery and nobility of Ameri-
can manhood and our faith in the pos
sibilities and opportunities of American
citizenship be renewed; if our appre-
citation of the blessing of restored
Union and love for our Government be
strengthened, and if our watchfulness
against the dangers of mad chase
after partisan spoils be quickened, the
dedication of this statue to the people
of the United States will not be in
vain"
The occasion suggests a contrast be-
tween the situation as regards the civil
service in 1881 and that in 1887. In
his second annual message to Congress.
December 5, 1870, President Grant rec
commended ga reform in the civil SER
vice of the country which should
s'govern not the tenure, but the man.
ner of making all appointments" In
March, 1871, an amendment was
tackled on to an appropriation bill in
the Senate authorizing the President
to prescribe ''such rules and regula-
tions for the admission of persons into
the civil service of the United States
as will best promote the efficiency
thereof, and ascertain the fitness of
each candidate in respect to age.
health, character, knowledge and ability
| for the branch of the service into which
he seeks to enter;" and also authoriz-
ing him to employ suitable persons to
conduct these inquiries. A Civil-Ser-
vice Commission was appointed, and
rules were established for the filling
of vacancies by competitive examina-
| tions, which were put in force during
the summer of 1872. The new system
speedily demonstrated it's advantages
over the old, and in his annual mes
sage, December 1, 1873, President
Grant urged its extension, pointing out
that ''to have any rules effective, they
must have the acquiescence of Con-
gress as well as of the Executive. ="
The Forty-third Congress was Repub-
lcan in each branch, more tEan two to
one, but the party managers had no
sympathy with the reform, and they
proceeded to starve it to death. Mr..
Blaine, as Speaker, appointed COM
mittee on Civil-Service reform, OF
which that unblushing spokesman, Gen.
eral Butler, was the leading spirit, and
under the lead of Blaine and Butler, a
House Republican, by 1875 to 90, re-
fused to make any appropriation for
the support of the Commission in 1874,
and the system soon after expired OF
inanition.
General Grant made no further at
tempt to push the reform. General
Garfield's first step was a step back
ward. He chose as his chief adviser
the man who as Speaker had been
chiefly responsible for the smothering
of Civil-Service reform in 1874. With
in three weeks after his Inauguration
he turned his back upon his own pro-
fessions in favor of reform by an os-
tentatious action based solely and al
most avowedly upon the spoils system.
A collector in the New York custom
house was removed midway in his
term, not for the good of the service,
since it was acknowledged that he had
been an efficient and faithful official,
but for the purpose of making room
for politician whose personal demand
upon the Presidents chief adviser must
be paid off at the public expense. This
backward step was not retraced, and
on the morning of July 2, 1881, the
outlook for reform was most discour.
aging.
| Perhaps nothing short of Guiteau's
shot could have impressed the people
with "the dangers of mad chase
after partisan spoils." Certainly the
assassination of Garfield marked the
turning-point in the struggle with the
spoils system. In the next election ot
| Congressman, in the fall of 1882, the
popular demand for change was made
so plain that the expiring Con.
gress, promptly upon meeting
in December, 1882, took up and
passed the Pendleton bill, which
its author had for two years vainly
pushed upon the attention of his col
leagues. In July, 1888, the COMPETE
tive system was put into operation. In
1884 the growing demand for thor.
ough-going reform of the civil service
aided in the election of Democrat
over Republican candidate who had
shown his attitude towards the ques.
ton when he committed it to the ten.
der mercies of General Butler ten
years before. The Civil-Service sy stem
! became month by month more firmly
[ entrenched, and in May, 1887, an ex.
tension only second in Importance tc
its original establishment is made
through the approval by the President
of rules which apply the competitive
principle to promotions as well as to
entrance. Most important of all, this
latest and most significant action Of
the Presinent is criticised only by 8
few Republican spoils organs, while
the progressive Democratic newspa
pers throughout the country accept il
as one of the arguments which the par.
ty can present for asking another lease
of power in 1888.
1t is not yet six years since Garfield s
assassination, but it is already evident
that the lesson of that event has been
mastered by the American people. The
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